White Wolf:Canon Policy FAQ
FAQ Home | General FAQ | Contributions FAQ | Editing FAQ | Canon Policy FAQ | Administration FAQ ---- What is "canon" exactly? : There exist different definitions of what can be regarded as canon. At White Wolf, we always try to stick to the following, most common definition. * Technically, canon is what TPTB pay attention to in the making of new White Wolf books. Everything that was written in a previous book has to be canon in this respect. After all, if someone/something is written in a book, it should not be allowed to deny their/its existence. * Errata, cut material, and other developments by people directly involved in the production process may be as good as canon, since they wrote the original material. Even if these snippets are supplemented with some information like dates or individuals not mentioned in the books, this might be important to limit the room for speculation. * Still, even anything stated in the games or novels may be doubted, where it's not consistent (the date of the diablerie of Lasombra). We don't have to buy everything and make up twisted explanations where logic and common sense fail. * Finally, there is the huge category of fan fiction all of which is non-canon, including forum posts, fan-made webpages, and fan-ebooks. It is obvious that this strict definition is necessary, since werewolves would be fighting Highlanders and there would be more bloodlines than vampires if all this fiction were "true". Even the novels and video games authorized by White Wolf are non-canon, considering that "authorized" merely means that a license is given to a third party which doesn't oblige WW to anything. Why don't you distinguish better what is canon information and what was made up? : For the time being, ALL information included in the WW Wiki that pertains to the various White Wolf universes must be canon. Speculation is limited to very obvious conclusions and always explicitly marked as such - please adhere to the systematic use of the subjunctive, of "could, would, might be" and little words like "if" or "perhaps." Unlike the case on most other websites and especially many databanks, we don't make up any information, even if this leaves wide gaps in the lists and charts. Okay, so why do you have novels and comics listed here? Those aren't canon! : Although we may be restricting information about the WW universes to canon for the time being, we also can't ignore the novels, comics, and other parts of White Wolf's history which have contributed to its success over the years. Therefore, we're including lists for other topics (i.e. all episodes, movies, novels, etc. - stuff in the real world) to create a useful reference base that we can build from in the future. Why are you so strict about "canonicity" anyway? : Until the WW Wiki develops a larger article base as a reference source, we want to ensure the greatest possible reliability for all readers and contributors. This means restricting the kinds of articles we accept to those that are most familiar. : There are people who accept only canon. On the other hand, there is the kind who stir up canon and fandom at will — because they either don't know that much and believe anything they see or read or because they don't want their creativity be limited by the strict yet contradictory canon of TPTB. We know lots of either type of fans and any shade in between. We go with TPTB and agree with their definition of canon (but not necessarily everything they tell us), while we encourage anyone to include whatever he likes to his personal view of the WW settings. We would never want to miss the fan-made stuff all around the world because they really enrich the settings, no matter if we "believe" in them. For anyone in between, canon is a common ground. Everything else is left to our imagination and tolerance or better, mutual understanding. There are always possibilities!